13 camels killed on way to Saudi camel beauty pageant

The month long annual camel beauty pageant hosted in Saudi Arabia will be missing 13 camels worth millions, as the valuable animals were hit by a truck and killed as they travelled to the pageant.

Camels participating in the annual King Abdel Aziz Festival in Um Raqiba, Saudi Arabia, travel from all over the Gulf to compete for the beauty pageant title. Last year Emirates 247 reported more than 13,000 Arabian camels took part in the pageant which attracted owners from Saudi, UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Emirates 247 reported that 13 camels en route to this year's pageant were struck and killed by a truck carrying cement, as they crossed a road. The camels were worth millions. France 24 reports that the beauty pageant was once a local desert custom that has now transformed into a competition which is worth millions of Saudi riyals in prizes and can transform the camels owners into celebrities.

Both male and female camels participate in the pageant where a camel's beauty is assessed based on "the size of its head; whether its lips cover its teeth, the length of its neck and the roundness of its hump."